On a Wing and a Prayer: The Untold Story of the First Heroes of the Air

Few are aware of the risks that the pioneering airmen of the First World War took. On a Wing and a Prayer is a narrative history that conveys the perils of those early days, the thrills of learning to fly, and the horrors of war in the air at a time when pilots carried little defensive armament and no parachutes.

This book provides an insight to the fragility of the aircraft that were flown in those days. It must have taken huge courage to get into the earlier models and take off. Fortunately, they flew so slowly, they could land almost anywhere.

Thunder Below!: The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II

Under the leadership of her fearless skipper, Captain Gene Fluckey, the Barb sank the greatest tonnage of any American sub in World War II. At the same time, the Barb did far more than merely sink ships-she changed forever the way submarines stalk and kill their prey.

This is a gripping adventure chock-full of "you-are-there" moments. Fluckey has drawn on logs, reports, letters, interviews, and a recently discovered illegal diary kept by one of his torpedomen.

Yes. I enjoy military history. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was stunned at the bravery of the men that went out in submarines

What other book might you compare Thunder Below! to and why?

The Bravest Man - another submariner's tale, Neptune's Inferno on the naval battles around Guadalcanal and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors of the heroic stand by destroyers against battleships in Leyte Gulf

Have you listened to any of Corey Snow’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Crystal Soldier: Liaden Universe Books of Before, Book 1

Centuries in the past, mankind fought a seemingly unbeatable adversary from sector to sector across the Spiral Arm until the war ground to a standstill and the Enemy withdrew. Believing that they had won, the citizens of the galaxy rebuilt. The Inner Worlds, which had escaped the worst of the war's ravages, became even more insular, while the Rim worlds adopted a free and easy way with law and order. Now, hundreds of years after their withdrawal, the Enemy is back - and this time they'll be satisfied with nothing less than the extinction of the galaxy.

Viper Pilot: The Autobiography of One of America's Most Decorated Combat Pilots

Sure to rank as one of the greatest aviation memoirs ever written, Viper Pilot is an Air Force legend's thrilling eyewitness account of modern air warfare. From 1986 to 2006, Lt. Col. Dan Hampton was a leading member of the Wild Weasels, the elite Air Force fighter squadrons whose mission is recognized as the most dangerous job in modern air combat. Weasels are the first planes sent into a war zone, flying deep behind enemy lines purposely seeking to draw fire from surface-to-air missiles and artillery. They must skillfully evade being shot down - and then return to destroy the threats, thereby making the skies safe for everyone else to follow.

Great North Road - Part One

In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, AD 2142, Detective Sidney Hurst attends a brutal murder scene. The victim is one of the wealthy North family clones - but none have been reported missing. And the crime’s most disturbing aspect is how the victim was killed. Twenty years ago, a North clone billionaire and his household were horrifically murdered in exactly the same manner, on the tropical planet of St Libra. But if the murderer is still at large, was Angela Tramelo wrongly convicted? Tough and confident, she never waivered under interrogation - claiming she alone survived an alien attack. But there is no animal life on St Libra.

The story is very involved and the plot is woven in leaf after leaf. I love Peter Hamilton's stories and look forward to his next book.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

I first saw a tome in a book shop with the author Peter Hamilton. Out of curiosity, I got one of his books and have been fascinated by his imagination and depth of description ever since. I almost wish I could be alive when we will be able to travel to his worlds...

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

Peter Hamilton has a wonderful imagination. He is able to describe his worlds in a very clear manner allowing one to imagine what he is driving at. He is also able to disguise his plot so that you only find out at the end how it all ties together.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

I love John Lee reading Peter Hamilton's books and was initially disappointed to see he was not reading this one. However, Tony Longworth has more than stepped up. I like his voice, his intonation and his ability to read the words to tell a story.

The Department of Mad Scientists: Inside DARPA, the Path-Breaking Government Agency You've Never Heard Of

The first-ever inside look at DARPA - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - the maverick and controversial group whose futuristic work has had amazing civilian and military applications, from the Internet to GPS to driverless cars

The Quantum Story: A History in 40 Moments

Utterly beautiful. Profoundly disconcerting. Quantum theory is quite simply the most successful account of the physical universe ever devised. Its concepts underpin much of the 21st-century technology that we now take for granted. But at the same time it has completely undermined our ability to make sense of the world at its most fundamental level.

It was able to get me up to date from high school physics to the current state of play. Jim Baggot did a wonderful job of providing very high brow physics in a way that made it make sense. I wanted an update: I got it in spades! I will read more of his books.

What other book might you compare The Quantum Story to and why?

none that I know of

What does Mike Pollock bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has a good way of reading very difficult and thoughtful material that did not shut me off.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Finally understanding Schroedinger's Cat

Any additional comments?

A well written story of a complex concept that kept the reader along even if you started to lose some of the concepts.

Enterprise: America’s Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II

America’s most decorated warship of World War II, Enterprise was constantly engaged against the Japanese Empire, earning the title “the fightingest ship” in the navy. Her career was eventful, vital, and short. Commissioned in 1938, her bombers sank a submarine just ten days after the Pearl Harbor attack, claiming the first Japanese vessel lost in the war.

Yes. This ship seemed to have a divine hand putting it in the right place at the right time. Anyone who has read Flashman will have the same feeling of "you're kidding me right" as the Big E heads into yet another major battle much like Flashman accidentally being at the the Charge of the Light Brigade.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The ship. It had a soul of its own.

Which scene was your favorite?

Several. Whenever the Enterprize took a big hit, you hold your breath which is silly seeing as you know she survived. But, that is the gut feel.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. It did remind me that sometimes life is tooooo coincidental to be mere coincidence.

The Battle of Midway (Pivotal Moments in American History)

There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. In this absolutely riveting account of a key moment in the history of World War II, one of America's leading naval historians, Craig L. Symonds, paints an unforgettable portrait of ingenuity, courage, and sacrifice.

Sniper: American Single-Shot Warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan

From Afghanistan's Hindu Kush peaks and sunbaked Helmand Valley to Baghdad, Mosul and Ramadi in Iraq, American snipers have braved heart-pounding situations to hit their human targets dead-on. Few military feats stir the imagination like the image of a pair of riflemen waiting quietly in a building, a bomb crater, or a mountain pass for a Taliban or Al Qaeda fighter to walk into their crosshairs. Sniper presents real-life tales from the military's frontline snipers---their hits and their misses, the anguish of loss, and the anxiety of the first kill.

Hellfire

May 2006. Pilot Ed Macy arrives in Afghanistan with a contingent of Apache AH Mk1. It's the first operational tour for the deadly, difficult machines and confidence in the cripplingly expensive attack helicopter is low. It doesn't help that for their first month 'in action', Ed and his mates see little more than the back-end of a Chinook.

This is an interesting and stark story of what happened in the early days of the British going into Helmand Province in Afghanistan. It also gives you an insight into how easy it could be for a helicopter to fire on friendlies. The discipline of the Apache pilots is very impressive.

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